Gift cards and certificates are a popular way of giving gifts. In a typical gift card scenario, the gift giver travels to a merchant and purchases a card that is associated with a certain amount of stored value, often the purchase price. The giver then mails or delivers the card to the recipient, who redeems the value by traveling to the merchant, picking out an item to purchase, and presenting the gift card as a form of payment. This scenario is inconvenient for both the giver and the recipient, especially if the giver and recipient live in widely separated locations, or if the recipient does not live near a retail location of the merchant at which a received card is redeemable.